Rooster in Review: Please don't shoot the guy delivering the package you ordered
And a state legislator stands in the way of good legislation to troll The Rooster.
The Patriots Caucus has been on the move in recent weeks, no more as evidenced than when State Rep. Brian Stewart made it a point to troll our humble operation from the floor of the House of Representatives:
Unsurprisingly, this is typical disingenuousness from Ohio’s tiniest legislator. HB-122, which Stewart voted for in the past, has to do with Guardian Ad Litem and other count-appointed professionals.
To amend sections 2921.03 and 2921.04 and to enact section 5.54 of the Revised Code to expand intimidation offenses to include guardians ad litem and court-appointed special advocates and to designate May 1st as "Court-Appointed Special Advocates Appreciation Day."
In December, Stewart labeled The Rooster “a blog nobody reads.” Six months later, he’s voting against sensible, bipartisan legislation so he can troll me. He couldn’t wait to tell me after the House session on Wednesday, either.
I guess this is why a right-wing lobbyist told me this week that if I ever decided to move from Ohio, the House Republican Caucus would probably pay for my one-way ticket out of the state.
They’re not yet that lucky, thanks to brave and noble readers like yourself. Thank you, as always, for supporting The Rooster.
This week in Ohio Man…
Here is a story that is not only uniquely Ohioan but also uniquely American.
From Eric Lagatta of usatoday.com:
A Columbus, Ohio man suspected of shooting an Amazon driver with birdshot after he had delivered a package at the man's residence appeared in court Tuesday morning, two days after his arrest.
Keith W. Grubb, 59, faces one charge of felonious assault after Franklin County sheriff's deputies arrested him Sunday. Grubb appeared Tuesday morning in Franklin County Municipal Court and is due back in court on June 28, according to an online court docket.
Detectives identified Grubb in court documents as the man accused of shooting and injuring an Amazon delivery driver in the early hours of Sunday morning. A spokeswoman for Amazon told USA TODAY that the driver was not an employee but an independent contractor with Amazon known as a Flex delivery partner.
Everything about this story is grim, but don’t sleep on the sentence that the driver “was not an employee but an independent contractor with Amazon known as a Flex delivery partner.” Nothing like the wealthiest man in the world working our tax system to avoid paying what they owe to the workers that make their empire possible!
The arrangement also most likely means the victim won’t be eligible to collect workman’s compensation as they recover from being shot by a maniac who probably consumed so much right-wing media that he thought the worker delivering the package he ordered to his house was some assassin coming to rape and kill his entire family.
AR-15s (rightfully) catch the heat for the chaos they sow on our streets, but America’s flood of handguns does the most damage, body for body.
This week in The Rooster…
Only two dispatches this week due to Monday’s celebration of Juneteenth.
March of the extremists. Ohio GOP moves to close primary and enable extremist politicians, the silver linings of this week’s spat of anti-LGTBQ bills, and Ohio will keep bailing out decrepit coal plants (including one in Indiana!).
Columbus… the best in the Midwest? Columbus is much luckier than its Midwestern counterparts, but that doesn’t necessarily make it better. It also includes interviews with Ohio Chamber of Commerce president Steve Stivers and State Rep. Scott Wiggam (R-Wooster).
As always, be sure to follow The Rooster on Twitter and TikTok.
THOSE WMDs. A stretching guide for very online people… Five animals that can sense things you can’t… How an All-American hotel became a resort for the most vulnerable… Hollywood has a climate problem… Exploring the world of Benadryl-induced delirium.